Better for books. Better for bettors.”
One of many unintended consequences of the COVID-19 shutdown was the immense increase of at-home leisure time that adults and families would now be experiencing. Really, there are limits to how much Netflix you can watch and Scrabble you can play. With mainstream sports around the globe on hold until very recently, people are increasingly turning to gaming to fill the empty hours of lockdown and isolation. As a result, the online gaming industry has taken off like a rocket during the coronavirus pandemic.
And that’s where innovative, forward-thinking, and well-managed companies like
FansUnite Entertainment Inc. (FANS) (
CSE: FANS,
OTCMKTS: FUNFF,
Forum) are filling the void.
FansUnite’s proprietary technology infrastructure is a future-facing solution for the sports betting industry. FANS offers a wide range of match offerings – pre-match and live markets – as well as live match streams.
Until recently, the company delivered a solution that focused solely on the global sports betting market. In connection with their public listing in early May 2020, FansUnite acquired a Scottish sportsbook, McBookie. With a track record of success in traditional sports betting, FansUnite made a decision to further their footprint in the casino games market through McBookie early in the pandemic. This bet not only paid off due to sports being on hiatus but served a greater purpose for FANS.
Now sports betting and online casino games remain giants when it comes to their share of the overall betting market. As we have seen many times before, different markets serve different bettors. And that could not be more true for one of the fastest growing sectors of the betting business: Esports.
A new and emerging form of competition has led to a completely new demographic of bettors. So, the question is how does one find these bettors and get in on the growth? Many companies are entering the esports market, but lack the experience and knowhow to turn entry into profit. One solution is to find a partner that’s already established itself in the esports field and knows how to make money in the industry.
Case-in-point – Vancouver-based, iGaming industry heavyweight Askott Entertainment Inc. – a leading provider of wagering software, esports fantasy league games, and casino-style esports-themed games to the iGaming industry. The software developer has been building award-winning gambling software since 2013, and already facilitates existing esports betting sites through partners and subsidiaries.
The FansUnite / Askott Merger
On
June 23, 2020, FansUnite announced it had acquired Askott Entertainment through “a definitive amalgamation agreement.” FansUnite says the merger will ultimately create “one of Canada's leading online gaming companies, focused on sports betting, esports wagering and casino games.” And now, the Company is making bold moves to increase its market share and brand awareness, while increasing profitability.
As
recently reported on Stockhouse, savvy tech investors know that esports and iGaming are a burgeoning multibillion dollar industry. Many have also picked up that esports betting, once a minor offshoot of the sector, is already a multibillion-dollar industry that’s growing on its own.
FansUnite Entertainment’s CEO, Darius Eghdami, commented on the landmark deal:
"As the online gambling market continues to grow, the amalgamation with Askott is a significant milestone and transforms us into one of Canada's premier iGaming companies. Combining with Askott provides us with a fully integrated gaming asset that offers multiple B2C platforms for users in a variety of betting offerings, B2B technology that can be licensed to all types of sportsbooks, and a seasoned team of executives that have led and grown multiple organizations on a global scale. This combination creates a leading online iGaming company, and positions us strongly for significant growth with new offerings and market opportunities."
As part of the deal, FANS now owns the rights and technology to Askott’s one-of-a-kind complete iGaming platform – the Chameleon Gaming Platform – which was recently shortlisted for EGR Esports Provider of the Year Award. With a track record of success, the platform is the industry’s first turnkey, full-solution B2B white label offering for esports betting, fantasy, and casino games.
Staying busy throughout the summer,
on July 8th, FansUnite and Askott Entertainment announced an up to $5 million brokered private placement led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. The financing was successfully completed and oversubscribed on July 31
st.
And recently,
as reported by Stockhouse on August 6th, the platform will now allow for the full integration of over 6,000 casino games allowing every betting provider on the platform to serve these games to their customers. More betting options, higher customer retention, and higher gaming revenue.
The deal merges two companies with specific areas of gambling and gaming expertise – FansUnite, with their sports betting platform, and Askott, with its esports iGaming Chameleon platform. A marriage made in heaven, if you will.
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The keys for the FansUnite / Askott merger are each of the company’s platforms. Chameleon is the industry’s first turnkey, full-solution white label offering for esports betting, fantasy, and casino games. This, in addition to FansUnite’s sportsbook technology, will give clients a full suite of iGaming assets with sports betting, esports and casino offerings.
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Keys to Success
As we see it, with this acquisition now complete, FansUnite provides many opportunities to generate revenue for shareholders and is in a position to deliver immediate catalysts and drive cash flow.
With the merger of Askott, FansUnite has access to a revenue-producing B2B platform that can scale quickly. How? B2B platforms in the betting industry typically charge a combination of one-time costs and fixed monthly costs, along with revenue share agreements with the B2C operators they onboard. Considering that Chameleon already has multiple B2B clients, and access to growing esports books that will inevitably grow over the next few years, the licenses could be quite lucrative.
In addition to the B2B arm, many opportunities also exist to integrate into other platforms. As noted above, Askott recently signed an agreement to onboard additional casino games on their industry leading platform.
And most importantly, with sports returning recently, it’s fair to expect a ramp up in sports betting volume.
As a fully integrated I-Gaming suite of betting solutions, FansUnite is in a unique position to be a leader in the online betting market in Canada.
The Last Word: From the CEO
In a conversation with Stockhouse Editorial, CEO Darius Eghdami explained how FansUnite’s breakthrough merger with Askott took root and flowered during the last year or so:
“We, as a company, were looking to get into esports, and esports betting specifically, over the course of the last 12 months. Scott (Burton, Askott’s CEO & Co-Founder) and Askott have been in the space well before most people even knew what esports was and are pioneers in the esports betting space. I’ve known Scott since he started Askott, for over seven years now, and we’ve always rooted for the success of each other’s companies, supporting each other throughout. We were both getting ready to pursue our own go-public strategies – we went public in May while Askott was on the path of their own go-public strategy. Scott and I spoke and decided we have an opportunity to create a huge splash in the Canadian public markets and become the go-to, and the premier iGaming company. So, we pursued the opportunity to merge, join our technologies, merge our teams, our boards and push to become the biggest gaming company here in Canada. We’re excited about it, our teams are excited about it, and we believe we are just at the tip of the iceberg of what we can accomplish as a group.”
Now that both teams are ready to roll up their sleeves and get down to the work of building a bigger, stronger, faster iGaming, investors should be keeping their eyes keenly on this new potential earnings machine.
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For more information on FansUnite, please visit their informative and entertaining website at
fansunite.com.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.